1/27/2010 @ 4:00PM

Five Reasons iPad Isn't A Kindle Killer

The iPad has arrived, and, yes, it’s powerful, pretty and threatens to render a significant number of the world’s consumer devices extinct. Among the intended targets for Steve Jobs’ slim steamroller of a gadget: the Kindle.

Apple
announced that it has launched its own electronic bookstore, what it calls iBooks, complete with cheap best-sellers and wireless downloads. That online bookstore will synch with the iPad’s own e-reading application, which features flick-of-the-finger page turning and variable fonts–tricks the Kindle can’t yet match.

But when Steve Jobs first listed the various media that his wonder tablet will revolutionize including music, movies and gaming, “eBooks” showed up last. And that may be an acknowledgment that, fluid and versatile as Jobs’ rectangular brainchild may be, it’s still not a particularly good device for reading books. Here’s why:

–Price

At $499, the iPad is cheaper than practically anyone expected. But it remains a multipurpose device with a multipurpose price. It costs $499, plus $130 extra for a 3G modem and $30 a month for unlimited wireless access.

That makes the Kindle’s quickly falling $259 price tag–including an unlimited wireless plan–seem like a steal, especially for consumers who want simple reading and already have their computing and music needs met–often by a Macbook and an iPod touch.

“Let’s face it, if you’re a book reader, Kindle does the job well,” says James McQuivey, an analyst with
Forrester Research
. “And now it seems very, very cheap.”

–Book selection

Forrester’s McQuivey points out that the list of publishers announced as Apple’s iBook team includes Harper Collins, Haschett, MacMillan, Penguin and Simon and Schuster. Noticeably absent? Random House, the biggest book publisher in the world. That means that even if Apple’s prices are lower than Amazon’s, major titles may be missing from Apple’s e-book store, a possible casualty of the company’s typically aggressive deal making, McQuivey contends. “Until you know what’s going to be available and at what price, there’s no reason you’d spend twice as much on this device,” he says.

–The Kindle’s better battery life

The iPad may have a beautiful, dynamic display, but all that flashiness has a price: power. The 10 hours of battery life that Jobs touted may be impressive, but like most Apple devices, it will likely be far shorter in practice, particularly when a user is tempted to alternate between reading Dostoevsky, surfing the Web, listening to music and watching YouTube videos.

The Kindle’s battery lasts as long as a week with its wireless signal turned off. That makes it an easy device to leave in your bag for days at a time or travel with, whereas the iPad’s frequent charging would keep you tied to plug-heavy reading spots.

–IPad’s LCD vs. Kindle’s ugly, practical screen

Sure, the E-Ink that the Kindle’s black and grey screen uses is likely years away from the video and color capabilities of the iPad. But for reading, it works–in some ways better than the iPad’s LCD screen. The Kindle’s passive, reflective screen technology uses only ambient light and is readable in bright sunlight. Amazon Chief Jeff Bezos has described reading on an LCD backlit screen, by contrast, as “shining a flashlight in your eyes.” That’s fine for composing an e-mail, browsing photos or surfing blogs, but doesn’t work as well for hours of immersive reading.

–The iPad could expand the e-book market

Apple’s high-profile entrance into the book world–a reversal of Jobs’ earlier statements that “no one reads anymore,” could actually spark a new era of high-tech bookworms. Russ Wilcox, the chief executive of E-Ink, whose display technology powers every e-reader from the Kindle to Plastic Logic’s Que, argues that the iPad will be a “sampling tool” for computer users to test e-reading before switching to a more focused device. “We’re glad that Steve reversed his position on whether Americans can read,” says Wilcox. “Anyone who spends more than 10 hours reading on an LCD screen will yearn for E-Ink.”